Are You Ready?

Songs of the Church Devotion for Dec. 7, 2021

?“On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry”?stanza 2

?“Then cleansed be ev’ry life from sin; Make straight the way for God within, And let us all our hearts prepare For Christ to come and enter there.”

?Prepare!?That’s what people do this time of year.?They prepare for Christmas – putting up decorations, baking cookies, sending out Christmas cards, buying and wrapping presents, getting ready to visit family or be visited, and on the list goes.?We all want to be ready when Christmas day arrives.

?That was the mission and ministry of John the Baptist – to prepare the way of the Lord… to get God’s people ready for the birth of the promised Messiah.?What did that mean in John’s day? ?The people of Israel needed to be reminded why they needed a Messiah.?They needed to be reminded that their biggest problem was themselves, not the Romans… It was their own sin, not the sins of others.?So John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…” reminding them that they needed a Savior because they were sinners.

?Preparation for the coming of Jesus is also one of the themes and purposes of Advent.?We too need the reminder that we are sinners… that this is why Jesus came.?We will never understand what a joy it is that He came to save us, until we understand how badly you and I need saving. That our hearts be cleansed of sin, is so vital because He who came in Bethlehem will come again in glory as King and Judge.?There is only one way to be ready for His coming on that day – Repentance and forgiveness through faith in Christ.?

?So – “cleansed be ev’ry life from sin; make straight the way for God within, and let us all our hearts prepare for Christ to come and enter there.”